News Center newsletter

by Joe Moses

State of Iowa Auditor Rob Sand made a stop in Allamakee County Friday evening, July 14 for a scheduled townhall meeting in the Waukon City Park, near the Allamakee County Freedom Rock, with this public event being part of his fifth 100 Townhall Tour since taking office. During his visit to eastern Iowa July 14, Sand also made townhall meeting stops in Anamosa, Maquoketa, Dubuque, Manchester and Elkader before ending the day with his meeting in Waukon.

No one was injured Friday afternoon, July 14 when a train struck the vehicle pictured above and below that had ended up on the railroad tracks along North Front Street in Lansing near its intersection with Henry Street, just north of the Black Hawk Bridge and south of the Lansing Marina. An initial report from the Lansing Police Department indicates that the vehicle, driven by 78-year-old Frederica Trunkel of Mesa, AZ, had its brakes malfunction while traveling down the incline of Henry Street, was unable to stop at the intersection with North Front Street and ended up veering on to the tracks just prior to the arrival of the scheduled train that was already traveling into Lansing at the time of the incident. The timing of the incident did not allow enough time for the train to stop prior to impact.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, July 17 at the Harpers Ferry Community Center/Dolores Tillinghast Memorial Library as part of the Supervisors’ annual schedule of library visits within the county. The Supervisors addressed a full agenda of matters including Quarterly Reports for the County Sheriff’s office and County Relief office, consideration of an engineering and survey quote for the Allamakee County Public Safety Center Water System Project and the consideration of County Courthouse sidewalk bids.

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley also present.

The volunteers at the Allamakee County Food Shelf in Waukon received a Governor’s Volunteer Award from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg during a special recognition ceremony held June 6 in Cedar Falls. Pictured in the photo at right at the award presentation are, left to right, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds; Allamakee County Food Shelf Coordinator Julie Rotach, who nominated the Food Shelf’s group of volunteers; and volunteers Cathy Jurgens and Monica Roderick, who represent the collection of volunteers that Rotach says make all that takes place at the Allamakee County Food Shelf possible, noting that there are about 15 most consistent volunteers who help out during the weekly food distribution efforts every Thursday for those most in need of those services.

More than 600 Governor’s Volunteer Awards were presented this year during five ceremonies across Iowa. It is estimated that more than 150 communities in Iowa were served by this year’s honorees.

The Iowa History 101 mobile museum coordinated by the State Historical Society of Iowa will be visiting Postville Thursday, July 27. The Winnebago recreational vehicle (RV), pictured above, filled with Iowa’s history will be at the Postville Farmers Market, which is held weekly at 101 East Greene Street, from 4-7 p.m. that Thursday for its only scheduled visit to Allamakee County in an effort to visit all 99 Iowa counties again from 2021-2023. The mobile museum will be parked in front of the Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) office in Postville.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

By definition, a superintendent is one who oversees an organization and offers leadership and strategic planning. Since 2001, Dr. Dale Crozier has been that person for MFL/MarMac schools. Ten years later, he also added the task of managing the Eastern Allamakee Community School District, which includes the Lansing and New Albin areas, serving as a shared superintendent for both school districts since 2011 until his recent retirement from that role for both districts at the end of June.

by Brianne Grimstad

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for its regular monthly meeting Monday night, July 17. Under the consent agenda, the board approved the following personnel: Mike McGeough as SPED Route Driver; Jarod Dahlstrom, Tim Bulman, Jon Snitker and Zach Thornton as volunteer football coaches; Alyssa Bell as Kids Club Coordinator; and Ray Wacker as night custodian.

The board also accepted the resignation of Melissa Ward from her position as head varsity softball coach. The Backpack Program was renewed under the consent agenda, as was the Free and Reduced School Meals Application Process.

During the Communications time of the meeting, the board reviewed the Vehicle and Facility Usage Summary reports that were compiled by Pat Klinge. Total miles for the 2022-2023 school year were 29,684 miles. The district also collected a total of $582.87 in rental fees for use of school facilities.

The Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Waukon Center will offer High School Drivers Education for Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) students.

Students may register for one of these three upcoming sessions:
• Monday-Friday, July 24-August 4, from 1-4 p.m. (#91754)
• Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, August 21-September 25, from 5-7 p.m. (#91763)
• Monday and Wednesday, October 2-November 2, from 5-7 p.m. (#91764).

To satisfy the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements, students must attend 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of Behind the Wheel (BTW) driving experience. Attendance is required at all sessions. Students must have an Iowa driver’s permit before the first class.

FreedomBank has announced that it is contributing $5,000 towards the Harpers Ferry Museum project in Harpers Ferry. For more than 120 years, FreedomBank has strongly supported community projects that empower success in rural Iowa.

Spearheaded by the Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society, the museum will be constructed next to the Oil Springs School within the Martell Heritage Park in Harpers Ferry. Once completed, the museum will cover an area of 9,000 square feet and resemble the original Harper Hotel, built in the late 1880s and run by David and Harriet Harper, whom Harpers Ferry was named for.

“The Harpers Ferry Museum will play a vital role in showcasing the rich history of the Driftless Region, enhancing tourism, and serving as an economic driver for Allamakee County. As a 100% employee-owned community bank, FreedomBank is committed to funding projects that preserve our rural heritage for future generations,” said Kathy Mueller, FreedomBank’s CEO and President.

The City of Lansing has partnered with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) to create a community vision for the future of Main Street. The overall goal of the planning and visioning process is to identify needs, desires and concerns that residents, business owners and visitors have for the Main Street/Highway 9 corridor through Lansing. The end product will be a community-derived vision for the corridor that considers things like traffic safety, environmental impacts, historic preservation, lighting, streetscape amenities and more.

“This planning process will help make sure we are prepared to discuss options with the Iowa Department of Transportation when the time comes to redo Highway 9 through town,” said Lansing Mayor Melissa Hammell. “In the meantime, the plan will help us focus our efforts as a community toward finding funding opportunities for Main Street improvements that will make Lansing an even better place to live and visit.”